A Lesson in Prioritizing
by Aemillia
Summary: HinaTashigi for the sake of itself. Tashigi chooses one duty over another and learns that sometimes her private life must come before her public one.


Disclaimer: One Piece is the sole creation of Oda Eiichiro and is also licensed by many companies. I in no way own nor profit from his work beyond the joy One Piece brings me.

Author's Notes: First, this fic contains CANING and YURI. If either of these elements bother you, please hit the back button on your browser and find something else to read. Second, this fic is set after Alabasta because Tashigi is a lieutenant rather than a sergeant major. Finally, this fic was written primarily for my own enjoyment, but posted in the hopes of reaching other One Piece yuri fans and for promoting Hina/Tashigi.

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"Lieutenant."

Tashigi froze in mid tiptoe, wondered if it was the squeak of the doorknob that gave her away or if the ramrod straight figure her eyes were slowly starting to detect through the darkness of the room had been waiting alertly there for the entire evening.

"M-ma'am."

She couldn't see the movement, but she could hear a faint rustle of cloth. Captain Hina was sitting on her bed in the dark and Tashigi suspected that she hadn't given anything away at all besides that which should have been her first priority.

"Where have you been, Lieutenant?"

She could hear the capitalization of her rank again and she swallowed thickly. The use of her title rather than her name could denote only one thing in this situation. Captain Hina was…displeased.

"I was in my office ma'am. There was a large amount of unexpected paperwork."

This was the truth, but she knew that it would not be enough to assuage the other woman. It was her only weekend of leave for the entire month and plans had been laid. But her loyalty to Captain Smoker and to her duty as a marine had won out over her other feelings. She hadn't meant to take the entire day; somehow the hours had flown by and it was after nine before she completed the work and realized the time. Likely, Captain Hina had been waiting in her quarters the entire day.

"And was any of that paperwork of the variety that needed to be turned around immediately and returned to HQ?"

"N-no ma'am."

It had been pressing work, but nothing had required instant attention. Guilt tightened her throat as Tashigi swallowed again. She could feel every nervous response from her body right down to her clammy palms and the twitching of her toes in her boots as she stayed rooted on the spot. A brief flicker of thought – why hadn't Captain Hina sought her out when she never returned to her quarters – flashed lightning quick through her brain only to vanish in a puff of mental smoke. That wasn't the way things worked between them and she had only herself to blame for her failure.

"Perhaps you forgot the date? The time? The fact, Lieutenant, that certain plans had been made?"

"Not…not exactly ma'am."

She was wringing her hands now and she knew Hina could see that when there was a sudden flare of a match. Fire dazzled, her squinting eyes just managed to make out the sunglasses perched on the end of the older woman's nose as she cupped the flame to the end of her cigarillo.

"And what, Lieutenant, does that mean?"

Swallowing was impossible, shame and guilt lodged too tightly in her throat to be avoided. Tashigi managed to unlace her fingers long enough to form a fist at her side, thumb of her other hand stroking over Shigure's hilt for strength. Failing was always one of the hardest things for her to face, and owning up to it would be difficult. But not doing so would be another form of failure and she couldn't do that. Not to this woman.

"It means, Captain Hina ma'am, that I forsook our plans for important paperwork that probably could have waited until Monday and then lost track of time and ended up completing all of it and thus did not meet my obligations to you."

There was a long pause in which Tashigi fidgeted and listened to the familiar sounds of smoking. Her room would smell of the cigarillo, but it was no great hardship considering her office smelled like the inside of a humidor. It would be comforting or painful, depending on the outcome of her failure. She wanted nothing more than to throw herself at Hina's feet and beg for forgiveness, but there were certain unspoken rules that it would be best NOT to violate at the moment.

"I have two further questions Lieutenant Tashigi."

She started to take heart from the introduction of her name into the conversation, hope finally allowed to venture out of hiding. "Yes ma'am?"

"The first is thus: are you willing to let Hina extract her vengeance for your lapse?"

That didn't sound so positive. Taking a deep breath, Tashigi tried to forget all the various things the other woman had done with and to her. Vengeance was a powerful word and its achieval could very well put her quite squarely out of her mind. She was probably going to hurt and not necessarily in the way that she enjoyed.

"Yes ma'am." Her affirmative was quiet and weaker than she would have liked, but she couldn't find the necessary steel to strengthen her voice.

"Very good Lieutenant. You will first take care to light the oil lamp you will find on your nightstand. Then you will proceed to strip off all garments and will return to stand in the spot you are currently in once those tasks have been completed."

"Y-yes ma'am."

Although her innards felt tangled and knotted and her knees wanted to knock together, Tashigi moved with only the slightest hesitation through her darkened quarters. The lamp at her bedside bathed the room in a mellow golden glow, and she spared a quick glance at the stiff back and the fall of cherry blossom hair before hastening to comply with the rest of Captain Hina's orders. She shed her clothing quickly and with no thought of trying to tease with her actions. Nevertheless, she could feel the dark purple gaze following her every motion and she was flushing slightly by the time she resumed her position in the middle of the room, hands balled at her sides and vision focused just over one slender shoulder.

Hina stared for a long moment over the dark rim of her sunglasses, drinking in every inch of the young, nude woman. Tashigi still had trace remnants of her teenage gawkiness, but overall she was a well-built, well-muscled woman with the scars and usual collection of scrapes and bruises only heightening her beauty. The corners of her mouth quirked up as she noticed the lieutenant was still avoiding her eyes. She had been very angry earlier, was still upset, but Hina was a very forgiving mistress despite her reputation. It was her duty to instill discipline in those she took into her care, and if they happened to fail, well, it only meant that she too had not fully succeeded. And Tashigi…Tashigi was her most important charge, especially because she was not the girl's official keeper and because her feelings for the young lieutenant ran far beyond those she held for those who sailed under her. She let Tashigi sweat it out for another minute before she rose gracefully to her feet.

"Remain where you are lieutenant. Face forward and do not move from your current position."

Smirking slightly at the widening of Tashigi's eyes, Hina slipped around behind her, glance lingering over the feminine curve of buttocks and hips. She had brought this particular item along just in case. They hadn't really gone quite this far before and she hadn't been sure if Tashigi was ready. But now, now it was entirely fitting. One gloved hand slipped behind the dresser and closed around the length of rattan as the other discarded her dark glasses on the top of the piece of furniture. It was hard resisting the urge to tap the slim wand against one palm, but she managed to restrain herself. The expression on her lieutenant's face would make it worthwhile. She stepped back around into Tashigi's line of sight and lazily swung the cane. Air hissed faintly in its wake and Hina did not bother to hide the grin that spread across her face as brown eyes grew impossibly large.

"Hina is sure you are familiar with the stonnacky."

Tashigi audibly gulped and nodded slowly. She knew what a stonnacky was all right; a tool that – in the right or wrong hands – could set the burliest of marines shaking in his boots. Captain Smoker never had any need of its use, but she'd seen in it action once or twice and she'd heard plenty of stories. Never had she imagined that she would ever be on any end of the implement though! This was, if her prior experiences with Captain Hina were anything to judge by, going to leave her unable to sit properly for days.

"Very good. Then you know why this is the instrument Hina has chosen to use."

Her lieutenant was simply delicious; fear and anticipation and the faintest glimmers of remembered desire already shimmering in her eyes. Hina carefully composed herself, letting the grin fade into a slight smile. Catching and holding the young woman's gaze, the marine captain let a hint of her own feelings show before finally breaking away y and gesturing with the nearly three foot long cane.

"Lie flat on your bed Tashigi. You may cradle your head with your arms if you like. Pillows and any excessive movement are strictly prohibited."

She was quick to obey, climbing onto the center of the double bed and dumping the possible temptation of her pillows off one side onto the floor. Her back was tense as she considered her position. She kept her quarters mostly spartan; her collection of swords was kept in the other room, leaving her bedroom empty enough that she could practice the most basic of katas in it if she so desired. This meant that Hina was free to move about all sides of the bed except for the head, which was flush to the wall. And there was nothing to impede the motion of the captain's arm either. Nestling her head in the crook of one elbow, Tashigi decided her best course of action was to try and concentrate on her breathing and just take everything as Hina chose to give it.

The mattress dipped slightly as Hina settled next to her side, leather-clad fingers tracing a feather-light path down her spine and dipping into the swell of her buttocks. Satisfied that she knew precisely where the lieutenant's tailbone ended, the older woman gently caressed slow circles across each cheek, stroked dancing fingers over the slight crease where the thighs connected. The sensations made Tashigi's skin tremble and her nerves spark in anticipation. The marine captain worked her hand between the young woman's thighs, nudging them ever so slightly apart so that her bottom was perfectly spread and relaxed. Then, after a soft press of her lips between nervous shoulder blades, Hina rose once more to her feet.

The stonnacky was light and it flexed nicely when she finally gave in and smacked it into her waiting palm. The lieutenant flinched at the noise, brining another grin to Hina's lips. She knew very well what she was doing with a cane. This would be one punishment, one lesson, Tashigi would not forget.

One of the keys to delivering a caning so that it was not merely corporal punishment was time. Another was finesse. Hina possessed both in quantities. She started out light and slow, with flicks of the wrist and the application of just the end of the rattan to Tashigi's skin. The pressure wasn't even enough to bring any real color and she could see the exact moment the lieutenant decided that maybe her situation wasn't so bad after all. Her shoulders relaxed and her neck curved a bit more into the cradle of her arms, toes unbracing themselves from their hold in the covers. Walking slowly around the bed in order to keep her strokes spread evenly, Hina merely continued to deliver faint blows. The key would be to work the lieutenant up and into the caning gradually.

Each 'blow,' and Tashigi hesitated to call them such for it felt more like a tap or even a fluttery kiss from time to time, fell across her skin and it reminded her of rain. Only it was an unsteady rain that that flitted over her skin in random waves, never hurting her. A few strikes were light enough that they almost tickled instead, and she pushed up into the cane in a silent plea for stronger sensation. Her wish was granted as Hina slowly increased her intensity and the amount of the stonnacky that was actually impacting on her skin. Harder strokes would be followed with a series of light flutters and Tashigi gradually became aware that even the light strokes were at least two and a half times firmer than the first ones had been.

Tashigi's bottom was flushed a light pink and her hips were just starting to move when Hina switched gears and laid the first stripe neatly across her buttocks precisely one quarter inch below the end of her tailbone. The swift intake of breath and the upward surge of the lieutenant's ass was gratifying, an indicator of a job so far done perfectly. Now it wasn't just her wrist but also her elbow moving with the motion of the cane, putting enough force to raise a welt that would hang around for another week before it finally faded into nothingness. Hina licked her lips absently as she laid down the second stripe neatly beside the first, only a sliver of untouched flesh separating the two lines. Her captain's coat was growing a bit too warm. She'd have to stop soon so she could take care of that, but not until the first part of her task was completed.

On the bed, Tashigi whimpered and wedged her wrist farther back between her teeth. This new tactic of Hina's was good, too good if her urge to squirm was any indication. She was wet now, could feel her own moisture on the comforter when she shifted slightly with the next blow. Each stripe was like a line of fire, the burn almost white-hot and numb for the first second or two before sinking down just a notch into a steady heat and throb. This was very different from the hot, stinging, open-handed spankings she'd received before. It was a better pain, but she did miss the embarrassed edge that lying across the captain's thighs brought out in her. Still, the fact that her every reaction was visible to Hina's watching gaze and the knowledge that her punishment would only grow worse was enough to pinken her cheeks and add to the sounds that wanted to escape.

Continuing her work, Hina laid her pattern, worrying her lip between even white teeth as her own handiwork began to have an effect on her body as well. Almost she was tempted to speak, knowing how much the lieutenant secretly enjoyed hearing her voice take on the lower, sultry tones of arousal. But she kept silent; it wouldn't do for Tashigi to think she had lost any of her control or direction in administering the punishment. As her work neared the lieutenant's lower bottom, she was finally rewarded with a heartfelt moan. This was the best area for pleasure; every blow would ripple down and through her young and naughty charge's body and heighten the sensation. Sure enough, Tashigi's hips were soon rolling rhythmically beneath the stonnacky, the noises leaving the girl's throat only somewhat muffled by the grip of her teeth around the loose skin at her wrist. She was a bit reluctant herself to move on when she reached the end of the so-called 'sweet spot' but there was a job to be done, and Hina fully intended to mark the lieutenant from the base of her spine to the very tops of her thighs.

The last few stripes marked Tashigi with more force, welting instantly under the increasingly harsh blows. Now the pain was enough to bring her back out from the fog of heat and sensation, made her muzzily move her head and mouth a questioning "Mrr?" between clenched teeth. The captain didn't answer, instead laying a last red line right across the crease of buttock and upper thigh. She bit down tightly, enough so that the abused flesh was almost punctured and swelled up against her tongue. This…this was no longer about what she wanted, what they both enjoyed. This was her punishment, and she would take it exactly the way Hina liked. A criss-crossing blow whistled down to stripe the center of her left cheek, her flesh breaking open and blood welling at every point the new line intersected with the old ones.

Tashigi yelped, buried her fingers and her face deep into her blankets, her body unconsciously swaying and tensing in anticipation and fear of another equally painful blow. Hina pursed her lips, laid a final blow parallel to the previous one across the lieutenant's other cheek and drawing blood once more. This time there was no yelp, but Tashigi's shoulders were shaking, a faint snuffling reaching Hina's ears despite the cloth clenched in the young woman's teeth. The captain eased back onto the bed, cool leather gloves running lightly across the hot twin-edged lines. She had wanted to try a few more moves, strokes that would leave deep and delicious bruises that would have the lieutenant aroused every time she sat down for the next few weeks, but it was clear Tashigi had had enough.

The stonnacky hit the smoothly polished wooden floor with a noise that made Tashigi flinch. She hunched her shoulders and shook her still-buried head to try and dash away the hot tears that had broken free of her control. The next touch to her injured bottom was cold; bare fingertips rubbed lineament in deeply enough that her eyes threatened to spill once more. But soon enough the burning throb was reduced to a pulsing heat, Hina's palm kneading at the juncture of her thighs nearly enough to spark the dying desire within her back to life. Tashigi swallowed back mucus and more tears, made enough room for a final apology to emerge.

"I'm sorry Hina! I won't let anything but essential duties get in the way ever again."

The sound of her name, rather than her rank or the usual "ma'am," further gentled Hina's face and she urged her lieutenant's face up from the blankets with a coaxing hand stroking through sweaty, dark strands. Tashigi's eyes still shimmered and her cheeks and nose were flushed and blotchy from crying, her lower lip bloody and her wrist bruised. She was the most beautiful thing Hina had seen, and she reached a gloveless hand to cup the girl's softly pointed chin, tilting her face up.

Hina's kiss was light and dry, not even a hint of lust promised in it, but there was an underlying sweetness that made Tashigi flick a tongue over her lips, compelling the marine captain to lean down once more and press in softly. When they drew apart, tears tracked once more down Tashigi's cheeks and she awkwardly twisted on the bed, pained bottom making her hiss when she briefly brought it in contact with the soft cotton of her blankets. There would be no more playing or punishment that night, but Hina did not mind. Her lieutenant grew more and more devoted to her everyday, the girl's discipline and sense of duty not needing much encouragement to be spun into something Hina could use. And when Tashigi was finally turned around and could bury her face in Hina's waiting bosom, arms that quite literally bent steel to her will enclosed her in the gentlest and most unbreakable of cages.


End file.
